


On The Fence

by myriad_of_sunshine



Category: Father Brown (2013)
Genre: Background flambrown if you squint, Bunty is a bisexual disaster, Disaster Gays, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Fencing, How Do I Tag, Marianne is a lesbian disaster, bc let’s face it as if i could ever write a fic without at least a little bit of flambrown, bunty being in denial, bunty is a terrible flirt, by that i mean a genuine disaster, father brown being the voice of reason as usual, flambeau being in denial, marianne being in denial, marianne is oblivious as fuck bless her, marianne pls go to therapy queen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:35:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29084751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myriad_of_sunshine/pseuds/myriad_of_sunshine
Summary: Bunty Windermere was never one to pass up the opportunity to learn a new skill, especially if the person teaching her was as pretty and charming as Marianne Delacroix. Not that she would ever say that last part out loud of course.ORMarianne teaches Bunty to fence, Bunty is a flirtatious disaster, gay chaos ensues.
Relationships: Penelope “Bunty” Windermere/Marianne Delacroix
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i’ve been meaning to write this for ages and i finally did it, please enjoy my disaster of a fic.

Bunty Windermere was never one to pass up the opportunity to learn a new skill, especially if the person teaching her was as pretty and charming as Marianne Delacroix. Not that she would ever say that last part out loud of course.

However, as she was hit with the sabre for what must have been the 80th time that day, she was starting to doubt whether it was such a good idea to have agreed to Father Brown’s suggestion that Marianne could teach her to fence. She only agreed because she thought it might be good to get to know the woman, considering the fact her father was spending quite a bit of time with Father Brown as of late (she really ought to find out what on earth was going on between those two). If she just so found herself enjoying the pretty woman’s company then that was a completely coincidental added bonus of learning a new skill.

As she got up off the ground and lifted her helmet up, she looked over at where the previously mentioned woman stood. “Are you sure we couldn’t of done this on a different day? Preferably one with less, oh I don’t know, heat?” she really was starting to sweat with all the exercise and with having to wear that ridiculous outfit.

If Marianne was at all bothered by the blistering heat, she made no effort to show it, in fact, she almost looked cold, if not for the evident trickle of sweat running down her forehead. Instead of replying, she stepped closer towards Bunty and looked up at her, a challenging sort of glint in her eyes, and had the nerve to smirk.

“Oh? Is the Honourable Penelope Windermere giving up already? Unable to handle the heat?”

Another thing about Bunty Windermere is that she knew a challenge when she saw one, and she’d never been one to say no to a challenge, especially if it meant wiping the smirk off someone’s face.

“You wish, I was just getting started.”

As they restarted, Bunty was filled with a new kind of determination, she absolutely wasn’t going to let some smart mouthed former thief beat her at a trivial match of fencing. But with every attack and thrust, Marianne seemed to just dodge out the way or parry it, she couldn’t see her opponents expression through the mask very well, but she swore the other woman looked almost bored as they shot sarcastic retorts at each other throughout the whole thing. She had to hand it to her, she was rather good at fencing. Of course it didn’t help that Bunty was just a beginner, barely accustomed to the length and light weight of the sabre, but with a bit of practise maybe she could wipe that bored look off her face. And maybe impress her too. Not that she cared about her approval, definitely not.

Eventually, finally, she got a lucky strike in, right at the rib cage.

“Aha! Take that Delacroix!”

Whether it was the surprise of the aristocrat actually getting a point, or the force of it, or if the heat really was getting to the younger woman, Bunty couldn’t be sure, but just as she threw her arms up in celebration, Marianne seemed to lose her footing and fell backwards, head going straight towards a rock behind her.

Her body seemed to have a mind of its own, and before she could even shout “look out” she was already running towards her, dropping the sabre and pulling off her helmet, she swung her arms out, catching the falling woman with surprising speed. Marianne pulled her helmet up too, staring in shock with her mouth open agape. The shock was quickly replaced with a frown as she snarled. “I didn’t need your help, I have this protective gear on for a reason.”

It was Bunty’s turn to smirk, “Why so defensive? Afraid that you’re falling for me? Quite literally it seems.”

That seemed to have an effect on her, as her face turned the colour of the lipstick covering her lips, “Please, as if I’d be caught dead falling for a dramatic posh twat like you, no matter how beautiful and witty you may be. Now put me down!”

The aristocrat raised an eyebrow at the young scholar, unsure of how to react to the compliment/insult, “As you wish, darling,” she said quietly and swung her away from the rock, dropping her onto the grass. Quickly turning away, she walked over to her sabre and helmet and tried to ignore the indignant cries coming from behind her.

“You’re insufferable. I’ve never once met someone as stuck up and infuriating as you!”

Bunty turned to face her, the trace of a smirk still on her lips, “Funnily enough, I hear that a lot.”

Marianne didn’t seem to find it funny however, and picked up her sabre angrily. “You know what? Let’s call it a day, I need to go back to The Red Lion anyway. Shall we meet back here same time tomorrow?”

“Sounds fine by me,” she shrugged.

“Good, well i’ll be off then.” and she walked through the back door of the Presbytery, most likely giving Mrs McCarthy a heart attack at the sight of her dirt ridden outfit.

*********

Marianne must’ve been more bothered than she’d let on, because as Bunty followed suit after hearing the door slam shut, she was immediately met with two confused faces.

“Ah Bunty! Judging by the racket our young friend made, I presume fencing didn’t go as smoothly as expected?” Father Brown immediately inquired.

“I’ve never seen her so annoyed before,” At Father Browns right side sat Flambeau, piercing eyes looking almost judgementally at the tall woman in front of him.

“To be fair, you haven’t really seen her all that often.” said the Father, smiling into his tea. Flambeau swatted him good-naturedly, and the two shared a look so full of understanding and something else that Bunty couldn’t quite place.

Bunty resisted the urge to roll her eyes, “If you two are done bantering, I suppose you’re wondering how it went.”

Just as she sat down, Flambeau stood up, saying he needed to go pick up a package. When the ever curious priest asked what it was, he was met with a warm smile and the promise that “You’ll find out eventually my good friend, patience is a virtue as you know.”

As he left, she retold what had happened, with a few stronger words added for emphasis, each one making Father Brown give a warning glance her way.

“...She’s just so infuriating! I saved her from hitting her head and instead of thanking me she gets all high and mighty! I mean, sure, the helmet would have saved her too, but in the heat of the moment I wasn’t really thinking of that was I? I was too busy trying to catch her, of course I probably shouldn’t have made that falling comment, I don’t even know if she likes women!” Bunty was far past worrying about being judged for her bisexuality by Father Brown, she’d come out to him several months ago and was met with nothing but love and support.

“Not that I care, it was just some friendly banter.” she sighed dramatically, flopping onto the chair opposite Father Brown, indistinct mutterings of “I’ll show her posh twat” and the occasional “Insufferable little thief”.

The priest seemed to think about that for a moment, before finally, “I hope you don’t mind my saying, but I’ve never seen you quite so hung up on someone like this before.”

Bunty scoffed, “I am not hung up on anyone! Besides, I’m simply just a flirtatious person, I didn’t mean anything by it of course, I’m just annoyed, she really is quite sarcastic and infuriating.” Despite her words, her face was burning bright red. She put her head on the desk and once again sighed dramatically.

Father Brown put his arms up in surrender, “Well whatever it may be that you feel for her, maybe try getting to know her? And if you’re curious as to whether or not she likes women, why not ask her?”

Bunty’s head shot up so fast she saw black spots. “I can’t just ask her something like that!” She seemed to come to a realisation, an uneasy expression on her face.“Oh Lord, do you think I made her uncomfortable? Should I apologise? The Red Lion is still open now isn’t it? Oh i’m such a fool i-“

“-I’m sure you didn’t make her uncomfortable, nevertheless, it’s getting quite late, you can always discuss it with her tomorrow.”

 _Trust the Father to be the voice of reason as always,_ thought Bunty. She supposed he was right, there was always time to apologise and sort things out tomorrow. No use fretting about it now.

“I suppose you’re right. Well, I must be heading off home now, Good night Father, and thank you for listening to my ramblings.”

“Of course, i’m always here to listen to you, goodnight Bunty.”

 _Father Brown always knows just the right things to say,_ she thought as she drove home. She really was quite grateful for his guidance and support, even if she didn’t say it enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! more chapters will come soon, i’m not sure how many chapters there’s gonna be. If you have any suggestions or if i made any mistakes please tell me!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marianne has a talk with her father, and learns they might not be as different as first thought.
> 
> Flambeau may have more emotions than he lets on.
> 
> Bunty has an idea for their lesson.
> 
> Feelings, denial and unexpected bonding are had by all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> asjhfaksjf this took too long to write.
> 
> comments and kudos are appreciated!! i hope you enjoy this chapter!

As Marianne got back to The Red Lion and entered her room, she thought back on the events of the fencing lesson.

_“Please, as if i’d be caught dead falling for a dramatic posh twat like you, no matter how beautiful and witty you may be. Now put me down!”_

She cringed at the memory. Had she really called Bunty beautiful? What on earth possessed her to say something so idiotic?

 _Well I wasn’t exactly lying was I?_ she thought, _She is rather attractive. Wait- what?_

Where on earth had that thought come from? She shook her head to rid the thought away. She was just tired, yes, that was it, no other reason.

As Marianne sat on her bed, a realisation dawned on her, she had unwillingly come out to the other woman by even saying she wouldn’t be caught dead falling for her, she didn’t even think to say “i’m not attracted to women.” _But then again,_ said the annoyingly logical (and maybe a little hopeful) part of her brain said, _I_ _t was Bunty who made the comment about falling for her first, does that mean that she’s also attracted to women?_ She shook her head again. Of course, it didn’t even matter, she wasn’t even attracted to the aristocrat anyway, she was far too self righteous and cocky, and terribly bad at fencing.

She took her fencing uniform off and put on a pair of light blue silk pyjamas she had purchased upon her arrival at Kembleford. If given the choice, she never in her right mind would have picked blue, unfortunately that was the only choice other than a bright green pair. At the time, she picked the most tolerable colour.

Just as Marianne went to place her neatly folded uniform back in her bag, she heard a knock on the door. Even though it had been almost a year after her encounter with Nero Hound, she was still wary of answering doors,. She chastised herself for being so foolish and got up.

When she opened the door, she was shocked to see the face of her father standing at the door, she half wished for the kidnapper to be there instead rather than talk to him.

She looked him up and down, a look of indifference on her face. “Oh, it’s you. What do you want Father?” He had an unreadable expression on his face, and Marianne couldn’t think of a single reason as to why he would be knocking at this hour.

He seemed to ponder for a moment, “Well, seeing as you made quite a scene back at the Presbytery, I thought I might as well find out what had happened during your little fencing lesson with Miss Windermere.” _No wonder he gets along so well with the priest,_ she thought wryly, _they’re both nosy and annoyingly good at reading too much into things._ She let him through, and he sat down on the bed, clearly waiting for her to give an answer.

 _“_ Yes, well, nothing you need to concern yourself with, I just got a bit frustrated, that’s all.” Flambeau raised an eyebrow, urging her to continue. “Fine, I fell over, she caught me and made a stupid comment about me literally falling for her. I made a sarcastic retort, she dropped me and walked away, Obviously I was angry at her for dropping me.”

The thief looked at her, and said with surprising gentleness, “Well, are you?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Am I what?”

“Falling for her.” He said it so bluntly, almost like the way someone would talk about the weather.

Marianne looked away, incredulous. “Of course not! I’m not even- well I am attracted to women but not-“ she seemed to realise what she’d just said, a look of horror crossed her face. She stood up, “Why am I even discussing this with you?” She felt more angry at herself rather than the man sitting next to her, how could she be so stupid as to tell him that information? She paced around the room.

Flambeau didn’t even look shocked at the information. “Marianne, I can assure you I couldn’t care less about which gender you’re attracted to, in fact it would be quite hypocritical of me to judge.”

That caught her attention, briefly pulling her out of her racing thoughts, she stopped pacing.

“You mean you’re-”

He cut her off, “-A homosexual? Well, not exactly, I enjoy the company of both men and women. I believe I’m what you’d call, a bisexual.”

She took this opportunity to sit back on the bed.

“Oh.” It seemed she had more in common with her father besides thievery and wits.

They sat in silence, not uncomfortable, but not entirely comfortable either.

After what felt like hours, Marianne finally spoke up, “Is that why you stay around the priest?”

Flambeau furrowed his eyebrows. “Are you implying that I feel some sort of guilt about my sexuality and stick with Father Brown in order to be cleansed of sin?”

She shook her head vigorously, “Goodness no, what I meant was do you stick around him because you’re in love with him.”

Upon hearing that statement, he froze, looking almost comically like a deer in headlights.

The look didn’t last long however, and quickly he composed himself, “Don’t be ridiculous, do you really think that I, Infamous Hercule Flambeau, would pine after someone? Let alone a priest?” Despite the defiant look in his eyes, his words were uncertain, filled with what Marianne recognised as his own self doubt.

In all honesty, four months ago she would have believed his statement to be true, but now that she had the time to watch the two men interact and talk, she wasn’t so sure. Whether he admitted it or not, the two had something going on between them, an unspoken knowledge, full of trust and understanding and _love._ She so yearned for that kind of relationship in her life, to completely trust someone, to know what they were thinking without even having to speak, to be able to look at them and think _Wow, how lucky I am to have you here with me, by my side._ Not that she needed companionship in her life, she was doing just fine on her own, thank you very much, but it would've been nice to have someone she could confide in.

Her father’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. “Sorry, what did you say?” He was looking at her with a concerned look, she must’ve been stuck in her own head for longer than she’d thought.

“I said,” looking at her once more to make sure she was listening, “I should probably go back to my own room, It really is getting quite late, and I assume you’ll need all the rest you can get to get through tomorrow without ripping poor Bunty’s head off.” He winked at her and got up, walking to the door. _“Bonne nuit, Mademoiselle Delacroix.”_ And with that, he shut the door.

She wasn’t sure if she was simply imagining it, but Marianne could have sworn that just after her father left, she heard the faint whisper of _“Bonne nuit, ma fille.”_ from behind the closed door.

**************

As Marianne arrived at the Presbytery the next morning, she was shocked to find Bunty waiting for her at the doorway, wearing black trousers and a red blazer. _Wow, you look great_ she thought.

“Why thank you, you don’t look too bad yourself.” She looked her up and down, a playful smile on her lips.

 _Oh God,_ she’d said that out loud hadn’t she? _What an idiot I am. “_ I uh, I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” She was sure her cheeks must’ve been bright red, she prayed that the other woman didn’t notice. “Shall we go inside then?” She moved to go inside.

Bunty didn’t move, “Actually, I was thinking, you haven’t been shown around Kembleford properly have you?” She thought about it, and realised she was quite right.

She nodded slowly, wondering where the aristocrat was going with this. “Yes, I suppose you’re right, why do you ask?”

Looking at the other woman, she seemed almost _nervous._ “Well, why don’t we skip the lesson today, and I can take you on a little tour of the town? You’ve been here for nearly a month now and still haven’t seen all the best places! Really, someone ought to have shown you by now, so why not make a day of it?”

"I suppose it won't do any harm," the woman in front of her beamed so bright Marianne thought she might blind herself. "Besides," she continued, trying to sound nonchalant, "It would be a good opportunity to get to know each other better, the only thing I know about you right now is that you're quite good at peeving others off, and being dramatic, and getting hit with my sabre."

Bunty put a hand over her chest, taking mock offence, "I'll have you know I have a _number_ of more honourable traits than that! This is slander to my good name! How will I ever recover knowing that this is how the world sees me, what on earth will I do?" she put a dramatic hand over her head, looking up towards the sky as if God himself would pity her.  
  
Marianne failed to hold back a laugh. "Did I mention being dramatic?" 

The tall woman pretended to think about it. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell." 

She rolled her eyes. "Alright then, where to first?"

Bunty's eyes lit up. "Well I thought first we could go to the sweet shop and then..." 

She smiled to herself, although she'd never admit it out loud, she really was looking forward to the "tour", if it could even be called that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flambeau really said "uno reverse, this is about me now" what an icon we stan
> 
> Bunty? being dramatic? in *my* fic? its more likely than you think
> 
> anyways thanks for reading!! comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!! let me know what you think of it!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Need to sort something out? what better way than to discuss it in a library!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter and updating like 2 weeks late, i just started school again and im hella busy.

In the small town of Kembleford, the sky was clear, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and in the distance near the sweet shop, two women were running as if they had just been chased out of a shop.

Despite the fact they had almost knocked over several shelves full of sweets, and gotten chased out of the store by the rather angry owner, Bunty thought the tour was going well. Her original plan was to show Marianne around the village, maybe impress her with her, albeit limited, knowledge of the village, and eventually apologise for possibly making the other woman uncomfortable with her flirting the day before. Of course, like all good plans, it wasn’t going as, well, planned. As it turned out, her companion knew much more about the history of the village than she did, and took every chance she got to show off her knowledge by stating random facts about the buildings and architecture.

Bunty told herself she wasn't impressed or interested in any way shape or form, she never had much interest in such boring subjects at school, but when she found herself smiling at the other woman as she explained the history of St Mary's church ("So Albert King built it in 1882 with Capel Tripp being the architect…”), she couldn't deny she had a certain fondness for the scholar, no matter how much she tried to suppress it. She told herself these feelings were purely platonic.

Marianne stopped talking, turning to face her. "Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?" 

Bunty’s eyes widened. How long had she been staring? She probably looked like a total fool. Blushing, she looked away. She tried to sound disinterested, “No, I was just thinking about how on earth you know all this, I’ve lived here for almost a year now, not to mention the countless visits I’ve spent here with my aunt, and I never learnt any of this historical gibberish, although I suppose I wasn’t a very good listener as a child.” She struggled to keep the curiosity out of her voice.

Marianne’s face turned guarded, and Bunty noticed her shoulders tense up ever so slightly. “Well, as you know, I had to travel all the way here to propose the challenge to my father.” She spat out the last word as if it physically pained her to say. Bunty could definitely relate. She continued, “So before I left, I decided to research the village’s history- I’m really quite interested in history, as I’m sure you’ve guessed- I suppose I must have read more about it than I thought.” Her eyes lit up the more she talked, and she had a smile on her face. She had a sort of gleam in her eye, as if this was the first time she’d ever spoken about something she was passionate about out loud. She chuckled softly, and looked up at Bunty, her expression turned into a frown once more, she looked as though she was scared someone would tell her to stop talking. “Sorry, you probably find my rambling awfully boring.”

Bunty furrowed her eyebrows, genuine surprise in her voice,“Why on earth would I find you boring? You’re one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met in this village, save the Father of course.”

Marianne smiled timidly. “Thank you, that means a lot to me, it’s not often I hear people say that about me.” Bunty stared at her, wondering why she felt like what she said would bore people, didn’t she go to some university full of other brainy people like her?

As they stood in silence, staring at each other, Bunty realised just how close they were. Barely inches away from each other. She found herself wondering what it would be like to kiss her, all she had to do was move a few inches forward and then…

Suddenly Marianne tackled her, bringing her abruptly out of her thoughts. They landed with a thud on the soft grass beside the cobblestone road. Bunty blinked, and looked over to where she’d just been standing.

She almost didn’t see him, but up the road, Father Brown sped past on his bicycle. “Sorry Bunty! Marianne! Can’t stop to chat!” He waved at them and continued pedalling frantically.

Marianne looked bewilderedly over her shoulder as he rode off into the distance. Bunty looked up at her, cocking an eyebrow and smirking, if anyone had seen them in such a position, even considering the circumstances, she was sure her father would have disowned her before she could say “Good riddance.” If she wasn’t mistaken, there was a soft blush across the fencer’s cheeks, making her look rather cute. Bunty thought again about what it would be like to kiss her. She looked away quickly, her own cheeks just as red.

“Oh, erm, sorry, I barely saw him in time and I just reacted on impulse, I’m sorry if I hurt you at all.” Marianne hastily got off of her and stood up, offering a hand.

Bunty took the hand gratefully and stood up. They both stared at the quickly shrinking form of the Father. She realised she was still gripping the shorter woman’s hand and let go quickly.

Marianne still looked incredulous and said, “What’s he in such a rush for? You’d almost think someone’s died.”

At that, Bunty laughed loudly, “Oh definitely, knowing the Father, you’re probably right.” They both laughed, partly because it was true and partly because of the absurdity of the whole situation.

Finally, Marianne managed to catch her breath. She brushed the grass off of her black trousers. “So, where to next?”

*************

Several hours later, they ended up in the mobile library. As much as she would deny it to Mrs McCarthy, Bunty really did enjoy reading and learning, she just didn’t have the attention span for it, she always seemed to get distracted or lose interest. The only book she’d genuinely enjoyed and been able to finish was Lulu & Lucia. Of course, Mrs M didn’t quite consider that to be “proper reading material for a respectable young lady!” She had a sneaking suspicion however, that Mrs M had in fact read the book in secret.

Speaking of reading, Marianne seemed to have a pile of books big enough to rival Father Brown’s collection. Bunty found it rather endearing, watching the other woman holding all those books in her arms. One book slipped out of her arms, and Bunty went over to pick it up.

“Need a hand?” She handed over the book, probably something about history.

“Thanks, I think I better put a few of these back.” Marianne said sheepishly. She turned away to put them back in their respective spaces, and Bunty saw the Lulu & Lucia book in the corner, and she was suddenly reminded of why she had taken her on a tour in the first place.

Better now than never. “So, Marianne,” She started. Ada seemed to notice something was up, and quickly exited, mumbling something about needing to replace something or other. Bunty was eternally grateful. She continued, “I meant to apologise for my behaviour yesterday. I hope I didn’t make you too uncomfortable with my uh, _falling_ comment, I promise that was never my intention to make you uncomfortable in any way, It was foolish of me to assume that you- well, you know what I mean. Anyways, I just wanted to say sorry.” _Great going Bunty, way to ramble on like an idiot._ She probably made everything worse, now Marianne would think she was a rambling fool. Thank God they were the only ones in the library.

Marianne looked taken aback by the sudden outburst of words. She blinked a few times. “Well, I agree your comment was rather foolish, but not because I’m not attracted to women, quite the contrary, actually. However, my statement still stands, I could never fall for a sarcastic aristocrat such as yourself.” Despite her words, she had a trace of a smirk on her face.

Bunty sighed in relief, at least she hadn’t made the other woman uncomfortable, she felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. “Well, that’s good then. Ada should be back soon, are you going to borrow those?” She pointed at the two books in her arms.

Marianne nodded, and just as she opened her mouth to answer, Ada walked back in.

Afterwards, Bunty was struck with a brilliant idea. “Hey, why don’t we go get a drink at the pub? Someone needs to teach you to loosen up a bit.”

To her delight, Marianne hesitantly agreed, and off they went in the direction of The Red Lion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> askjhdfkjas im so sorry for the short chapter, i promise the next one will be longer!!
> 
> kudos and comments are greatly appreciated so please let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing like getting drunk to realise you might have feelings for someone.
> 
> Marianne and Bunty get drunk. Marianne comes to a realisation. 
> 
> Oh, also, there's only one bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did i write this instead of doing my homework? That's Not Important. 
> 
> I think this might be one of my longest chapters?? nothing like gay idiots to motivate you amirite.

Marianne didn’t drink often. Aside from the occasional glass of wine during late nights of studying, she never really went out with friends to drink. Partly because she didn’t have any friends to drink with, and partly because she just didn’t have the time or the patience with people.

So why was she currently sitting at a bar with Bunty Windermere of all people, drinking her fourth glass of beer when it was only 7:30pm? She told herself it was because she had nothing better to do, she no longer had school to worry about. In reality however, Marianne couldn’t say no to a drink when Bunty offered, she didn’t know why, maybe it was the way her eyes lit up when she offered, maybe it was because she was sick of doing nothing all the time, or maybe, she just wanted to spend more time with the other girl. Very unlikely.

Whatever it was, she couldn’t deny that she was having fun. For the first time in what felt like months, Marianne felt completely at ease. She didn’t have to worry about thieves trying to kill her, no university to worry about, she just had to relax and have a few drinks. Really, she didn’t know why she hadn’t done this earlier, screw it! Maybe she was slightly drunk. Just a little.

Bunty was in the middle of telling Marianne about the time she won a golf tournament, and how Father Brown had solved the murder, she had a feeling she was leaving out a few details, but she didn’t press. “Really, I ought to teach you golf one of these days.” She was saying.

Marianne looked at her skeptically, “If your golfing skills are anything like your fencing skills, I think I’ll pass.”

Bunty scoffed at that, nearly spilling her drink. “Are you doubting my skills? I bet I’ll be able to beat you tomorrow during fencing.” She leaned in, a challenging smirk on her lips. Marianne could feel the other woman’s breath on her face, and she resisted the urge to do something stupid.

Instead, she gave her own challenging smirk, leaning in as well. “Deal,” an idea struck her, “The loser has to buy the other lunch, and has to ask the Father what’s going on with him and my father.” She held her hand out.

Bunty grasped it and shook it. “I knew I wasn’t the only one who saw it. There is definitely something going on there, they’re just too daft to realise. I’m pretty sure even Mrs M knows somethings up with them.” They both laughed, and the bartender came over to fill up their drinks.

She took a swig of her glass, setting it down with a thud. Looking at the other woman, who was currently raising her eyebrow at a more than friendly young man, she felt a sense of fondness, and something else that she dared not think about. Bunty really was one of a kind, never caring what others thought of her, shamelessly flirting with people, but always knowing when it was time to stop, she knew just how to get men to leave her alone. Marianne wondered how it felt to be that careless and controlled at the same time.

Whatever she said to the man seemed to have worked, as he was currently walking away, looking dejected and annoyed. Bunty saw the look on her face and laughed, “I told him if he didn’t stop eyeing me from across the bar and winking at me, I’d shove my heel so far up his-”

Marianne’s eyes widened, “-You told him _that?_ ” She didn’t know whether to be shocked or impressed. “What did he say back?”

“He apologised profusely and said he’d never bother me again.” She looked quite pleased with herself, downing the rest of her drink. She looked at her watch, “Blimey, it really is getting quite late. I ought to be off, I’d hate to worry Hornby. Thanks for the great day, I had a lot of fun.” She went to stand up, wobbled, and promptly fell back in her seat.

Holding back a smirk, Marianne raised an eyebrow at the other woman. “Are you sure you should be driving?” She could see the headlines now, _The Honourable Bunty Windermere Runs Over Several Pedestrians._ She shuddered at the thought.

Bunty wasn’t having it though, and tried again to stand up. “Oh please, I’m not even that drunk.” As she said this, she knocked over her glass, fortunately empty. She looked at the glass, “Maybe I’m a little drunk.”

She rolled her eyes, and helped her up, wobbling slightly herself. “Why don’t you stay at the pub tonight, I’m sure there’s a room empty.” _Thank the Lord for pubs having rooms_ she thought.  
  
There was, to the slight annoyance of the drunk woman clinging to her arm, no available rooms. Marianne panicked slightly, would she have to sleep in her room? The prospect of the aristocrat sleeping beside her made her heart race, and she wasn’t entirely sure it was from anxiety. _Well, no time to dwell on that feeling,_ she thought to herself, she had to deal with the task at hand first.

She sat back down at the bar. “I suppose you could sleep in my room, there’s more than enough space in the bed.” She was sure Bunty would be able to hear her pounding heart.

Bunty looked puzzled for a moment, until she realised what Marianne was saying. “Oh. _Oh.”_ She wasn’t sure if it was from the alcohol, but the aristocrat's face seemed to grow redder. “Uh, right then. If it’s not too much trouble for you.” Neither woman would meet each other’s eyes.

All she had to do was survive one night with Bunty Windermere. What could possibly go wrong?

***********

Easier said than done. They ran into two problems.

Problem number one: Bunty had no pyjamas, and her clothes were hardly suitable for sleeping. Fortunately, despite the height difference, Marianne’s spare pair of pyjamas fit her perfectly, and she had to admit, she did look rather good in blue.

Problem number two, which was more a problem for her and less of a problem for Bunty: Marianne could not for the life of her stop blushing. It was pathetic, Marianne Delacroix _does not get flustered._ Yet here she was, red faced and unable to look at the other woman. Her face still refused to return to its normal shade.

Finally, they both got settled, and went to bed. Bunty went out like a light. Marianne however, was not as lucky, her mind was far too loud, her heart too fast. There was no way in the world that she liked the woman sleeping beside her. No way in the entire world, she would never be so stupid as to fall for someone after knowing them for barely a month. Not a chance.

After tossing and turning for the fifth time, she eventually came to the conclusion that maybe, just _maybe,_ there was a very _small_ chance that she had…certain feelings for the other woman. A silly crush, nothing that wouldn’t fade in a few days.

Crushes were always an annoyance for Marianne. There was no point to them, all it did was get her hurt, getting her hopes up just to be rejected and ridiculed. The sooner her feelings faded, the better. No point getting her hopes up for something as unlikely as this.

Eventually, she did fall asleep. It didn’t last long though. When she awoke, it was still dark outside, and when she looked over, she nearly jumped. Somehow, Bunty had managed to rest her head on Marianne’s shoulder, sleeping peacefully as ever. She groaned, turning away. This really was getting ridiculous, how could someone so annoying look so angelic in their sleep? It was infuriating. It didn’t help that she could feel the other’s body warmth beside her, making her stomach do a little flip. Curse that bartender for not having more rooms.

A strand of hair fell in the sleeping woman’s face, and before she could stop herself, or think about it, Marianne gently brushed it off of her face. Smiling softly, she let her hand waver there.

She pulled away. “Sleep well, Bunty.” She turned over as carefully as possible, doing her best not to wake her.

As she drifted off to sleep, she heard a faint whisper from behind her. “You too, Marianne.”

************

No matter what Father Brown said to her, Bridgette McCarthy was on a mission. A mission that involved award winning strawberry scones. She was going to get these scones to Marianne even if it killed her. By the look on the bartender’s face, Mrs McCarthy guessed it very well was a possibility.

“I've already told you, no one is allowed in the rooms without express permission from the people in them. No matter how good your intentions are.” Mrs McCarthy rolled her eyes. Really, surely they could make an exception for a delivery of scones! They were award winning after all.

Suddenly, she was struck with an idea. “What if I gave you a scone too then? Or I could make another batch, just for you, wouldn’t that be lovely.” The bartender narrowed his eyes, before his stomach rumbled.

“You drive a hard bargain Ma’am. I’ll let you go up there just this once, but only because I didn’t have any breakfast this morning.” Eyeing the basket of scones, he lead her up the stairs, stopping outside what she presumed was Marianne’s room.

“You can expect your scones by this afternoon.” She huffed.

She knocked on the door. “Marianne? Are you there? I have a batch of freshly made scones for you! The Father said I shouldn’t disturb you, but goodness knows I wasn’t about to let you go without a proper breakfast, who knows what kind of slop they serve here.”

No answer.

Surely she wouldn’t mind if she left them on her bench. She opened the door a crack, opening it wider and walked in.

“Jesus Mary and Joseph.” She dropped the basket. There, in the bed, was Bunty and Marianne, oblivious to the world around them, sleeping soundly. Bunty’s head was rested against Marianne’s shoulder, and the two slept on, completely unaware of Mrs McCarthy’s presence.

She bent down and picked up the scones. “I should have known, trust you two to get into mischief. I knew you’d be bad influences on each other.” She tutted. She straightened, and looked at them. She tried to look stern, but seeing how peaceful they looked, she couldn’t help but smile softly at them. “Well, I’ll have to have a stern talk with you when you wake up, goodness knows when that will be. I suppose you both got drunk? Luckily for you two, I have pain killers in my handbag.” She fished them out, writing out a quick note, and put the medication on the bedside table. “I shouldn’t even give you pain killers, let the hang over serve as a reminder not to drink so much.” She shot another stern look, and once again softened at the sight of them.

Mrs McCarthy sighed, exiting the room. “Well, as long as you’re both happy. Have a good day, girls.” She shut the door quietly.

 _Just wait until Father Brown hears about this, I’m sure he’ll be pleased to know how…well… they’re getting along._ She thought as she exited the pub. As long as Bunty was happy, she supposed she would always support her, even if at first she didn’t agree with it, she would always accept her no matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mrs m: these bitches gay! good for them! good for them!
> 
> mrs m finally makes an appearance!! i love her dearly. 
> 
> anywayss comments and kudos are always appreciated! thanks for reading!!
> 
> (also i have no idea why it keeps putting chapter one's notes at the end of these notes??? does anyone know how to fix it???)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bunty wakes up disorientated and confused in someone else’s bed, awkwardness ensues.
> 
> Scones are also present in this chapter, because who doesn’t love scones!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why did this take so long to type aaaaa
> 
> i haven’t read through this bc i’ve been much too tired, so apologies for any mistakes!!

There are fewer things more disorientating than waking up in someone else’s bed with a hang over. It was an experience that Bunty was well used to by now. Still, waking up in Marianne’s bed hung over was just about as bewildering as it gets. 

The first thing Bunty noticed when she awoke was that she was leaning against something warm. The second thing she noticed was that she was wearing blue pyjamas that certainly didn’t belong to her. The final thing she noticed was that she wasn’t leaning against something, she was leaning against someone, Marianne. She sat up, immediately regretting it, her mind felt like it was on fire, everything was too bright. She groaned and laid back down, willing her head to stop thumping. 

What on earth did she do last night? She racked her brain for an explanation for why on earth she was in the other woman’s bed. Suddenly it all came back to her, memories of being drunkenly half dragged into the room by a vaguely annoyed Marianne. She sighed a breath of relief, “Oh thank God.” She quickly checked that she hadn’t woken the other up, who was thankfully still asleep. At least she hadn’t done anything stupid. Not that it was at all possible that they could have done something like that anyway, Marianne had no such interest in her, and the feeling was mutual. That’s what she told herself at least, but with every side glance at the other woman, every smile, the less she believed it. 

It was nice, waking up next to someone and not having to immediately get dressed and quietly run out without waking the other up. Of all the places she had woken up hung over, Bunty thought this was by far one of the better ones. 

Beside her, Marianne stirred. She lifted a sleepy head up, her hair was an absolute mess, sticking up in little tufts. Bunty thought she looked adorable, in a purely platonic sense of course. She didn’t seem to notice Bunty next to her, and proceeded to stand up. 

Bunty sat up. “Going somewhere?” 

Marianne spun around, her eyes narrowing. When she saw it was only Bunty, she sighed in relief. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, i thought you were still asleep!" she said, but there was no real anger behind her words, or perhaps she was too tired to be angry. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly suffering from the same hang over as the other woman. 

Bunty laughed, giving her a sympathetic look. “Not used to waking up hung over next to a pretty woman, huh?” Marianne hardly seemed the type to get drunk and wake up next to strangers in pubs, not that they were strangers, no, more like acquaintances. “Don’t worry, you get used to it, I’ll get you some water.” She looked around, and spotted a glass of water, along with a note, some pain killers, and a basket, all sitting on the bedside table. The bedside table was not, in fact, situated at the side of the bed, instead, it was in the corner of the room.

She strode across the room and took the painkillers out of the packet. After taking hers, she handed the water and tablets over to Marianne, who had also walked over to the not-actually-at-the-bedside-but-still-technically-a-bedside-table. 

Marianne leaned over, looking at the items. “Where did these come from?” Bunty didn’t answer, instead she picked up the note carefully and opened it, reading aloud.

_Thought you two would be needing these, do try to be more responsible next time. Enjoy!_

_PS: I always said you’d both make a lovely couple._

_\- Mrs McCarthy_

Bunty looked up, horrified. _Of course Mrs M would get the wrong end of the stick and jump to conclusions._ Marianne leant against the wall with her arms crossed, eyebrows raised, her expression both amused and flabbergasted at the same time. Bunty's face burned red. “Why on earth would she think that we- that I would- of course we didn’t! Why must she always jump to conclusions?” With each word she got more and more angry.

She looked back at the bedside table and sighed, trying to calm herself. "Well, at least she left us some pain medication,” she opened the basket, saw the contents and grinned widely. “And a lovely batch of her award winning strawberry scones!” she gestured dramatically at the aforementioned scones. 

Marianne eyed the basket, before giving in and walking over to grab one. She sat on the bed and took a bite. "I must admit, Mrs McCarthy does make good scones." 

Bunty sat down next to her, fidgeting with the sleeve of her pyjamas, they really were quite comfortable. She quickly finished her scone. “On that,” she said, standing up, “We can both agree.” she looked around for her clothes. It wasn’t that she was desperate to leave, quite the opposite actually, but she needed to have a rather strong word with Mrs McCarthy.

Marianne stood up too, watching her carefully. “If you're wondering where your clothes are, they're in the closet, you drunkenly insisted on “not making a mess of your room!!” and found the nearest hole to stuff them in” She pointed at a door in the corner. 

The two women got dressed facing away from each other, and Bunty was determined not to blush. Apparently her face didn’t receive the memo, however, and stubbornly refused to be any other colour rather than bright red.

They said goodbye hastily, Bunty thanking her for her hospitality, with a promise to beat her at the fencing game later that day.

  
  


*************

To say that Bunty was annoyed at Mrs McCarthy was an understatement. She was angry- no, angry didn't even begin to describe it. She was positively fuming. To assume something was one thing, but to actively write a note about it and leave it on the desk, without even knowing the full story, now that was just unbelievable. Mrs McCarthy had gone too far this time, and Bunty was determined to give her a piece of her mind. 

She arrived at the presbytery, and parked the car. As she turned off the engine, she mulled over what she was going to say. _Maybe i’m being unreasonable,_ she thought to herself. _How was she to know? It's not like we didn't look incredibly suspicious, being found in bed together._ She shook her head, no, Mrs McCarthy needed to learn. 

Bunty barged into the presbytery, making a beeline for Mrs McCarthy. Father Brown sat at the table, sipping his tea, as if he hadn’t heard anyone come in.

Mrs McCarthy looked up from the pot she was stirring. Seeing Bunty’s face, she gave a knowing look. “Oh, hello Penelope, I trust you had an _uneventful_ sleep last night?” 

Bunty had to resist the urge to smack the raised eyebrow and smirk off the older woman’s face. Instead, she took a deep breath, and raised a shaky finger at her. “You listen here, Mrs M. I don’t know what on earth you think happened, but I can assure you, you're completely wrong. Nothing happened last night between Marianne and I, and nothing will ever happen between us.” 

The other woman looked at her doubtfully. “Then why on earth were you two fast asleep in bed together, and why were you wearing her pyjamas?” Her face reeked of “gotcha”. Still Father Brown stayed silent, determined to not get involved.

Bunty hesitated. As much as she hated to admit it, Mrs M did have a point. To anyone else’s perspective, she could understand how it must have looked. “We had a few drinks at the bar, I drank a bit too much-” Mrs McCarthy scoffed, Bunty ignored her and continued. “-So i was unable to drive home, she let me stay the night because the pub had no empty rooms, she let me borrow some clothes because mine weren’t suitable to sleep in. There, are you satisfied now?” She crossed her arms, feeling smug.

Mrs McCarthy on the other hand, looked around sheepishly, grasping for straws. Finally, she met her eyes. "Very well then. I'll admit I may have jumped the gun. I will say though, you must admit there is something going on between you, whether you want to admit it or not." 

Finally, the priest decided to speak up. "She's got you there, Bunty, if even Mrs M can see it, surely you can see it too."

She shot him a glare, swatting him with her hand, although there was no real anger behind it. "You're one to talk, Father, what about you and Flambeau? There's almost certainly something going on there." 

Father Brown opened his mouth, and closed it again, seemingly speechless, or maybe lost in thought. It was always hard to tell with him. He finally looked up. "I have no idea what you're talking about Bunty." 

Bunty rolled her eyes. Father Brown never was the best at lying outright. "Oh cobblers! You can't tell me there's absolutely nothing going on. We've all seen the way you two look at each other. Flambeau is absolutely smitten with you, in case you haven't noticed."

Father Brown didn’t answer. Instead he got up and washed his cup.

Bunty sighed. Well, she was determined to find out what was going on between them. She always did love a good gossip.

Now all she had to do was beat Marianne at fencing, better Marianne ask the Father rather than her. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> amdjjsrjdj hope you guys liked this chapter, not my best chapter bc i’ve had a lot of doctors appointments lately.
> 
> comments and kudos are appreciated!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! more chapters will come soon, i’m not sure how many chapters there’s gonna be. If you have any suggestions or if i made any mistakes please tell me!


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